Members of the Michigan Nurses Association at Ascension Borgess Hospital in Kalamazoo have approved a new three-year contract with hospital administration.
The union represents about 300 nurses at the hospital, according to a Dec. 14 MNA news release. Ascension Borgess is part of Ascension, a nonprofit system based in St. Louis.
Union members approved the new agreement Dec. 14 after reaching a tentative deal earlier in the month. Before the tentative deal, nurses had given their bargaining team the ability to call a strike.
"This new contract clearly shows the difference that nurses can make when we are united together as a union," Lori Batzloff, RN, president of the local bargaining unit of the MNA at the hospital. "We were able to win improvements that will benefit our patients and community as a whole."
According to the union, the agreement includes:
- Average raises of 20.5 percent in the first year of the contract. This creates a new wage scale ranging from $33.44 per hour to $48.72 per hour.
- An additional emergency personal day for nurses.
- Increasing shift differentials for evening and night shift nurses by $1 per hour.
- Increasing on-call pay to $5 per hour.
In a statement shared with Becker's, Ascension said, "We are pleased our registered nurses represented by Michigan Nurses Association have ratified their new contract by a majority vote. Once again, we would like to express our appreciation to both bargaining teams for their diligent work in reaching this mutually beneficial agreement."